Digital chest imaging: comparison of two film image digitizers with a classification task.

A classification test was used to compare the results of digitizing chest radiographs with a linear diode array camera and a laser scanner. The ability of B readers to classify a pneumoconiosis test set from original radiographs and the digitized images was compared. The classification of profusion was impaired when images were digitized with the diode array camera but not when they were digitized with the laser scanner. The impairment found with images digitized with the linear diode array camera was overcome with use of a zoom function at the display station. The size of areas of opacification was overestimated on images from both scanners. Variation between and within observers (kappa approximately equal to 0.6) was consistent over observers and over modalities.